South Shetland & South Orkney Islands
Island landings north of the Antarctic Peninsula, from Deception Island and Elephant Island to King George Island, where some voyages start with a flight from Punta Arenas.
9 guides in South Shetland & South Orkney Islands
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Getting into town
A walkable port isn't necessarily step-free. At tender ports, the walk starts at the landing. A fare may cover only part of the journey, so check the guide for the full route.
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| Port | Destination | Walking assessment | Time / distance | Arrival | Shuttle / public transport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitcho IslandsAntarctica | The Aitcho Islands have no settlement; the shore destination is the penguin area at the east end of Barrientos Island, landing on its northern sand beach or southern cobble beach. Zodiacs land you at one end of Barrientos Island, normally the east. | Not recorded supervised roaming anywhere outside the closed areas; the mossy centre is off limits. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
| Deception IslandAntarctica | Deception Island has no settlement; the shore destination is one of its four visitor sites: Whalers Bay, Telefon Bay, Pendulum Cove or Baily Head. Before the passage through the Bellows, the ship radios its plans, and the captain asks Spain's Gabriel de Castilla and Argentina's Decepción stations for the volcanic alert, a traffic-light code. The stations are staffed only in summer (from January to late March in 2023-24). At orange, ships are advised to stay out. | Not recorded guided only: small groups climb to the Telefon Bay crater rim; beaches allow supervised roaming. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
| Elephant IslandAntarctica | Elephant Island has no settlement; the shore destination, when a landing happens, is the low point at Point Wild with the Pardo bust (HSM 53). Steep tidewater glaciers and cliffs fringe the point, and big icebergs often ground on pinnacles offshore. Submerged rocks and foul ground surround it, especially to the north and along its eastern side. | Not recorded if you land, you go in small, closely guided groups of up to 15 on a narrow sand-and-rock point; there's no free-roaming area. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
| Half Moon IslandAntarctica | Half Moon Island has no settlement; the shore destination is the small landing beach at the island's south-eastern tip, marked by an old whaling dory. Zodiacs land you beside the dory at the south-eastern tip. | Not recorded supervised roaming on the landing beach and west along the southern raised beach. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
| King George IslandAntarctica | There's no town to head for on a King George Island landing day; the shore destination is the site the expedition team picks, such as Penguin Island's north beach or Turret Point's cobble beach. Starting or ending your voyage here: IAATO counted 126 air-cruise voyages in 2025-26, using 170 flights into the island's Teniente Rodolfo Marsh airstrip. Each operator runs its own flights; this is Antarctica21's. A two-hour charter from Punta Arenas lands you on the island, a vehicle takes you past Chile's Frei and Russia's Bellingshausen stations to the shore, and a Zodiac takes you to the ship; you leave the same way, from Fildes Bay. Low cloud, fog, snow, ice and strong wind can delay flights: Antarctica21 keeps trying until 2 pm on day 4, then refunds the cruise fare. Its baggage limit is 25 kg each, hand luggage included. | Not recorded always with the expedition team: Penguin Island has no free-roaming area and Deacon Peak walkers keep to a set path, while Turret Point lets you roam, supervised, between its landing beaches. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
| Livingston IslandAntarctica | Livingston Island has no settlement on this coast; the shore destination is Liverpool Beach in Walker Bay, with Hannah Point's penguin colonies at its southern end. IAATO's 2025-26 guide names Liverpool Beach as the possible landing. The older Treaty guideline names Hannah Point's beach as the main one, but that's closed early in the season. | Not recorded supervised roaming by the beach; guided moraine walks and, after 10 January with a booking, Hannah Point. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
| South Orkney IslandsAntarctica | The South Orkney Islands have no town; the shore destination is the Adélie colony area at Shingle Cove on Coronation Island. The site takes ships of up to 200 passengers, two a day at most, with no more than 100 people ashore and a guide for every 20. It's a quiet landing: IAATO members' vessels recorded between 3 and 13 landed visits a season here over the five seasons to 2025-26, and 7 in the latest. | Not recorded you follow a flagged route over gravel or steep slopes to the Adélie colony, in supervised groups of up to 20; free roaming is limited to the immediate landing beach. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
| Whalers BayAntarctica | Whalers Bay has no settlement; the shore destination is the ash beach by the floating dock and the Hektor whaling station ruins (Historic Site and Monument No. 71). Zodiacs land you on the beach by the old floating dock. | Not recorded supervised roaming on the beach seaward of the station; guided walks to Neptune's Window and up Ronald Hill. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
| Yankee HarbourAntarctica | Yankee Harbour has no settlement; the shore destination is the landing on the inside of the curved gravel spit and the open beach beyond it. | Not recorded supervised free roaming anywhere outside one closed area. | Walk: Not recorded Distance: Not recorded | Tender · walking starts after landing | Shuttle: not recorded Public transport: not recorded |
How to read these comparisons
We only compare shuttles and public transport where walking isn't a clear yes. A bus or shuttle may cover only part of the way, or go somewhere else entirely, so check the guide for the route and what the ticket covers. Free shuttles come first. Fares are only put in order when the tickets are the same kind.
Not recorded: we haven't checked this yet, though the guide may say more. None: the guide records no such service. Not applicable: the comparison doesn't fit, either because the guide covers a route or several places, or because you can walk and a shuttle doesn't matter. Unknown fare: there's a service, but we don't have its price. Service unknown: we haven't confirmed the shuttle runs.
Times and distances run from the berth or landing to the landmark named in each guide. That isn't always the city on your itinerary. On the walking page, realistic walks come first, then conditional ones, then ports where walking isn't practical. Within each group, the shortest walks come first.